In an update to an Ohio man who went missing during a Christmas trip to Mexico, authorities in Zacatecas found the car rode in by 36-year-old Jose Gutierrez and three others. The Zacatecas attorney general reported that the car was found with bullet holes and flat tires—and the story gets more concerning.
DNA Testing Confirms That Jose Gutierrez, Fiancée, and Friends Were in the Bullet-Riddled Van in Zacatecas
Gutierrez went to Jalisco during the week of Christmas to visit his fiancée, Daniela Pichardo. The two were to be married later in 2023. On December 25, 2022, he went out to dinner at a bar in Jerez de Garcia, Zacatecas with Pichardo, her sister Viviana Marquez, and her cousin Irma Vargas.
The group never returned and a witness reported hearing screaming nearby after Gutierrez and company left the bar. Concerned family members reached out to authorities after not hearing back from anyone in the group. Gutierrez’s family filed a missing person’s report in Hamilton, Ohio.
Back in Mexico, Daniela Pichardo’s family contacted the group and were answered with an address via text. Pichardo’s mother arrived at the address but as stopped by authorities. The address was a crime scene and she was turned around.
On January 24, 2023, outlets outside of Mexico reported that authorities had found a van matching the one Gutierrez and company were riding in riddled with bullet holes. It was initially reported that four bodies were found nearby or inside the vehicle. It appears that the news didn’t get out because the bodies hadn’t been identified.
Forensic testing confirmed that the four bodies were those of Gutierrez, Pichardo, Marquez, and Vargas. Zacatecas, Mexico is one of the regions listed by the U.S State Department as a “Do Not Travel” region or a red region, going by the Department’s warning scale.
Locations that pose a threat to permanent residents and tourist/visitors because of organized crime, high levels of crime in general, conflict, and so on are deemed DNT regions. In Zacatecas, all of these fit the bill. According to the U.S State Department:
“Violent crime, extortion and gang activity are widespread in Zacatecas state. U.S. citizens and LPRs [lawful permanent residents] have been victims of kidnapping.”
Other DNT regions in Mexico include Colima, Michoacán, Sinaloa, and Tamaulipas for “kidnapping and crime.” Guerrero state is on the list just for “crime.”
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